Jacob 1 - That We Might Persuade Them to Come Unto Christ I'm taking an online economics class right now, which prompted me to think of the definition of economics in the context of the scriptures. Economics is the study of the allocation of scarce resources. In the case of Nephi and his successor Jacob, the plates upon which they engraved their record was a scarce resource. They were costly to make and difficult to engrave, and instilling a tradition of passing them through generations was surely cumbersome. Recognizing the great importance of spiritual things and the challenge of maintaining records, Nephi instructed Jacob to prioritize religious instruction saying, " if there were preaching which was sacred, or revelation which was great, or prophesying, that I should engraven the heads of them upon these plates, and touch upon them as much as it were possible, for Christ’s sake, and for the sake of our people" (Jacob 1:4). This priority was not only reflecte...
Alma concludes by teaching Corianton that we are our own judges and that our happiness or misery in the next life is contingent on our actions in this life. Alma taught, "and thus they stand or fall; for behold, they are their own judges, whether to do good or do evil" (Alma 41:7). Often when we thing of the final judgment, we think of God determining our eternal fate and assigning us to a kingdom of glory. In truth, we are our own judges and self-select based on what we desire most. If we have come to truly desire righteousness, we will be most comfortable among the righteous in the presence of God. If have desired unrighteousness, we will shrink from God's presence, and will be more at home away from the searing glory of God.
In fact, Alma specifically warned his son Corianton "Do not suppose, because it has been spoken concerning restoration, that ye shall be restored from sin to happiness. Behold, I say unto you, wickedness never was happiness" (Alma 41:10). I wonder if Alma the younger had heard similar teachings from his father, Alma. Alma Sr. taught a similar principle with his mission companion Amulek that if we have lived unrighteously, "we shall not dare to look up to our God; and we would fain be glad if we could command the rocks and the mountains to fall upon us to hide us from his presence" (Alma 12:14). The final judgment and the resurrection will not change our characters or transform our desires. Instead, the judgment will reflect and make permanent the desires of our hearts. As we sing in the hymn Know This, That Every Souls is Free:
Know this, that ev’ry soul is free
To choose his life and what he’ll be;
For this eternal truth is giv’n:
That God will force no man to heav’n.
This knowledge that we are our own judges and the master of our own destiny should fill us with a sense of hope and optimism. This power to repent and change was secured by Jesus Christ who atoned for our sins and conquered death. "Therefore, cheer up your hearts, and remember that ye are free to act for yourselves—to choose the way of everlasting death or the way of eternal life. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, reconcile yourselves to the will of God, and not to the will of the devil and the flesh; and remember, after ye are reconciled unto God, that it is only in and through the grace of God that ye are saved" (2 Nephi 10:23-24). We all have access to the power of Christ and can be saved by His grace if we seek Him and strive to repent.
We take with us our personality, knowledge, and attitudes with us into the next life. For that reason it is important to shape our character and evolve to be more like God now. Coronation assumed that Christ would save him in his sins, but Alma clarified that God would only save us from our sins if we seek Him. He warned, "O, my son, this is not the case; but the meaning of the word restoration is to bring back again evil for evil, or carnal for carnal, or devilish for devilish—good for that which is good; righteous for that which is righteous; just for that which is just; merciful for that which is merciful" (Alma 41:13).
As Alma promised Corianton, "if their works were good in this life, and the desires of their hearts were good, that they should also, at the last day, be restored unto that which is good. And if their works are evil they shall be restored unto them for evil. Therefore, all things shall be restored to their proper order, every thing to its natural frame—mortality raised to immortality, corruption to incorruption—raised to endless happiness to inherit the kingdom of God, or to endless misery to inherit the kingdom of the devil, The one raised to happiness according to his desires of happiness, or good according to his desires of good; and the other to evil according to his desires of evil; for as he has desired to do evil all the day long even so shall he have his reward of evil when the night cometh" (Alma 41:3-5)
In our lifetime of slow, iterative, incremental change, it can be easy to lose track of our progress and wonder if is worth it, especially when we repeat past mistakes and continue to stumble. I like to think of righteous as an orientation more than a destination. No matter how seriously and recently we have sinned, righteousness is defined by repentance. It is the direction in which we are walking and not our location along the path. If we submit to this process and trust in the power of Christ to save, we will conclude our lives with pure lives and righteous desires.
Application Questions
If you were to meet with God today and give and accounting for your life, how would you feel? What would it take for you to feel elation instead of dread at the idea of meeting God?
What are the desires of your heart? Are they reflected in the things you do and the ways you spend your time?
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